The Battered And The Redeemed

To Redeem the Soul of America looks beyond the towering figure of Martin Luther King, Jr., to disclose the full workings of the organization that supported him. As Adam Fairclough reveals the dynamics within the Southern Christian Leadership Conference he shows how Julian Bond, Jesse Jackson, Wyatt Walker, Andrew Young, and others also played a hand in the triumphs of Selma and Birmingham and the frustrations of Albany and Chicago. Joining a charismatic leader with an inspired group of activists, the SCLC built a bridge from the black proletariat to the white liberal elite and then, finally, to the halls of Congress and the White House.

An initial play, Oedipus in Jerusalem, related the narrative of Nathan, the biblical prophet, encountering the blinded Oedipus wandering alone outside of Thebes. Nathan brings him to Jerusalem to be tried at the Jewish Sanhedrin. The Greek playwright Sophocles is the prosecutor, and Nathan serves as the defense attorney. Oedipus is acquitted, but he refuses to accept his acquittal, shouting, “I am guilty! I am guilty of patricide and incest.”Oedipus Redeemed focuses on Nathan and Sophocles combining forces to present Oedipus with two dialogues of historical/biblical characters within the play. The first contrasts the suicide of the Greek Zeno the Stoic after a minor mishap with the life affirmation expressed by the biblical Job after monumental losses. This is designed to uncover the possibility that Oedipus is experiencing shame rather than guilt (after all, he did not commit suicide until after he blinded himself). Nathan and Sophocles focus on the secondary psychological benefit Oedipus has received from insisting on his guilt, and on his coming to terms with the fact that he had blinded himself needlessly if he was innocent. The second dialogue between the biblical prophetess Judith and the blind Greek seer Teiresias focuses on the biblical story of Samson being betrayed by "following his eyes." Insight is contrasted with sight. Oedipus's surviving daughter Ismene reunites with Oedipus, telling him she loves and needs him. The play ends with Oedipus's return to the Sanhedrin, tentatively and tearfully accepting his acquittal.

Church Actually is the theme of Spring Harvest 2012. Church attendance in the west has declined in recent years, but decline has been accompanied by growth in spiritual exploration, a desire for spirituality, faith, even Jesus - all without the church. Experience, history and the New Testament suggest this desire is ill-founded. It is through the church, the Bible suggests, that the Kingdom comes. How can we find a wider vision of the Kingdom and the church's role? Kelly explores four of the 'brilliant ideas' inherent in God's design of the church. God works through his people, and the church trains and equips; the church is Spirit-driven, and spiritual formation is central to God's mission; the church's task force transforms the world through acts of love and service; the church is the rainbow-clothed Bride of Christ, one global family, a reconciling model for the world.

Mike Weaver, lead singer of Big Daddy Weave, shares from personal experience how when all we can see is our struggles and failures, God reminds us of who we are. . . . His children. Loved. Set free. Redeemed. I Am Redeemed is an open book of Mike Weaver's life, bringing into the light everything from his battle with self-hatred to the near death of his brother and bandmate, who ultimately had both feet amputated to save his life. Mike shares the lessons learned in the loss of his father and dealing with the spirit of suicide within his band, Big Daddy Weave. At the lowest of lows, with Mike feeling rejected and alone, God broke through to speak truth and life into him. Thankful for God's plan and timing and methods, he is especially grateful for the new identity Jesus had paid for on the cross. In spite of his faults and failures, Mike learned that only God can take the stuff you hate about yourself and use it to reach people. Through the million-selling song "Redeemed" and now the powerful story behind it, as well as inspiration from Scripture, you will be encouraged to embrace God's redeeming grace so you, too, have the opportunity to be beautiful offerings to the Lord.

The fate of Atlantis is on the line-and the future of the world is at stake... Poseidon's warriors have learned that the battle to protect humanity produces unexpected enemies-and alliances. But none more unexpected than the bond between a cursed Atlantean warrior and a woman whose sight surpasses any lie.